Halley – A Recently Established Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Global Atmospheric ResearchStation in Antarctica - Preliminary Results from Greenhouse Gas Measurements

N. Brough, A. Jones and S. Colwell

British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK); 44 01223 221208, E-mail: nbro@bas.ac.uk

Halley is an Antarctic coastal research station operated by the British Antarctic Survey. The Clean Air SectorLaboratory (CASlab) is situated about 1.2 km south of the main base and in a sector that is rarely affected byvehicles or base pollution. More details about the CASlab can be found athttp://www.antarctica.ac.uk/bas_research/support/labs/caslab. The CASlab was opened in 2003, closed in early2009 to facilitate the new build project (Halley VI), and re-commissioned in early 2011. It has almostcontinuous measurements of trace gas, O3, CO, CPC, halogens and black carbon as well as filter sampling andsnow sampling capabilities. NOAA flask sampling measurements have been continuously taken since 1982.Other instruments recently introduced include high temporal resolution CH4 and CO2 measurements (2013) andoxygen flask sampling (2014).

As well as continuous gas measurements the laboratory has hosted a number of field campaigns includingcollaborations involving many UK national and international universities, both to access the the chemicalenvironment and to carry out process studies. Although the prevailing wind direction throughout the year iseasterly, traversing hundreds of kilometers of undisturbed snow, strong directional changes to westerlies oftenoccur, especially in the spring and summer months. Halley is therefore well placed to observe air masses with avariety of origins including the continental snowpack, the sea-ice zone and the southern ocean. In 2013 weincorporated a Picarro G2301 to provide high temporal resolution data of greenhouse gases CO2, CH4 and watervapour. Here we provide some measurement data and include an interesting synopses of a local event thatoccurred. We also provide information on a network of continuous monitoring stations linking the northern andsouthern hemispheres ranging from Ny-Alesund, Svalbard in the north to Halley, Antarctica in the south andnamed Equianos (http://equianos.com/news-feed/). The Halley Research Station has recently achieved GAWglobal status by committing to long-term measurements of reactive trace gases (O3, CO, NMVOC’s, greenhousegases and total column ozone) as well as providing other meteorological and atmospheric parameters.

Jones, A. E., et al.: Chemistry of the Antarctic Boundary Layer and the Interface with Snow: an overview of theCHABLIS campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3789–3803, doi:10.5194/acp-8-3789-2008, 2008.

Figure 1. View of the CASlab from the Halley VIStation.

Figure 2. The CASlab above is situated 1.2 km southof the new Halley VI Station.